How Bad Do You Want It

The greatest athletic performances spring from the mind, not the body.Elite athletes have known this for decades and now science is learning why it’s true. In his fascinating new book How Bad Do You Want It?, coach Matt Fitzgerald examines more than a dozen pivotal races to discover the surprising ways elite athletes strengthen their mental toughness.Fitzgerald puts you into the pulse-pounding action of more than a dozen epic races from running, cycling, triathlon, XTERRA, and rowing with thrilling race reports and revealing post-race interviews with the elites. Their own words reinforce what the research has found: strong mental fitness lets us approach our true physical limits, giving us an edge over physically stronger competitors. Each chapter explores the how and why of an elite athlete’s transformative moment, revealing powerful new psychobiological principles you can practice to flex your own mental fitness.The new psychobiological model of endurance performance shows that the most important question in endurance sports is: how bad do you want it? Fitzgerald’s fascinating book will forever change how you answer this question and show you how to master the psychology of mind over muscle. These lessons will help you push back your limits and uncover your full potential.How Bad Do You Want It? reveals new psychobiological findings including:Mental toughness determines how close you can get to your physical limit.Bracing yourself for a tough race or workout can boost performance by 15% or more.Champions have learned how to give more of what they have.The only way to improve performance is by altering how you perceive effort.Choking under pressure is a form of self-consciousness.Your attitude in daily life is the same one you bring to sports.There’s no such thing as going as fast as you can—only going faster than before.The fastest racecourse is the one with the loudest spectators.Faith in your training is as important as the training itself.Athletes featured in How Bad Do You Want It?: Sammy Wanjiru, Jenny Simpson, Greg LeMond, Siri Lindley, Willie Stewart, Cadel Evans, Nathan Cohen and Joe Sullivan, Paula Newby-Fraser, Ryan Vail, Thomas Voeckler, Ned Overend, Steve Prefontaine, and last of all John “The Penguin” Bingham

"Ben's ability to develop mental toughness and the approach he shares in Chasing Excellence is a game changer for athletes in any sport." --Javier Vazquez, Major League Baseball All-Star "This book will do for you what Ben has done for me--take you to the next level and show you how to be the best. His insights on the mental game are second to none. You will feel prepared for anything." --Bethany Hart-Gerry, US Olympic Bobsled Team CrossFit trainer Ben Bergeron has helped build the world's fittest athletes, but he's not like other coaches. He believes that greatness is not for the elite few; that winning is a result, not a goal; and that character, not talent, is what makes a true champion. His powerful philosophy can help anyone excel at all aspects of life. Using the dramatic competition between the top contenders at the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games(R) as a background, Ben explores the step-by-step process of achieving excellence and the unique set of positive character traits necessary for leveling up to world-class. The mindset and methodology that have produced some of the greatest athletes in the world's most gruelling sport can work equally well for golfers, lawyers, artists, entrepreneurs--anyone who's willing to commit totally to becoming better than the best. By Chasing Excellence, you'll discover how extraordinary it's possible for you to be.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Wait and “spiritual teacher for our times” (Oprah Winfrey) frankly and openly explores why men behave the way they do and what everyone—men and women alike—need to know about it. We hear it all the time. Men cheat. Men love power. Men love sex. Men are greedy. Men are dogs. But is this really the truth about men? In this groundbreaking book, DeVon Franklin dishes the real truth by making the compelling case that men aren’t dogs but all men share the same struggle. He provides the manual for how men can change, both on a personal and a societal level by providing practical solutions for helping men learn how to resist temptation, how to practice self-control, and how to love. But The Truth About Men isn’t just for men. DeVon tells female readers everything they need to know about men. He offers women a real-time understanding of how men’s struggles affect them, insights that can help them navigate their relationships with men and information on how to heal from the damage that some misbehaving men may have inflicted. This book is a raw, informative, and accessible look at an issue that threatens to tear our society apart yet it offers a positive way forward for men and women alike.

The New York Times bestseller now in paperback! In her global phenomenon The 5 Second Rule, Mel Robbins taught millions of people around the world the five second secret to motivation. And in her latest bestseller, she shares another simple, proven tool you can use to take control of your life: The High 5 Habit. This isn’t a book about high fiving everyone else in your life. You’re already doing that. Cheering for your favorite teams. Celebrating your friends. Supporting the people you love as they go after what they want. But imagine giving that same love and encouragement to yourself. Or even better, making it a daily habit. In this book, you will learn more than a dozen powerful ways to high five the most important person in your life, the one who is staring back at you in the mirror: YOURSELF. Using her signature science-backed wisdom, deeply personal stories, and the real-life results that the High 5 Habit continues to create in people’s lives around the world, Mel teaches you how to make believing in yourself a habit you practice every day. The High 5 Habit is a holistic approach to life that changes your attitude, your mindset, and your behavior. So be prepared to laugh, learn, and launch yourself into a more confident, happy, and fulfilling life.

“Like the YouTube channel, this is a touching yet informative guide for those seeking fatherly advice, or even a few good dad jokes.” — Library Journal

A step-by-step plan offers examples and exercises on how to determine and live by a set of values, experiment with failure as a formula for success, and take life beyond set limits.

The New York Times bestseller that gives readers a paradigm-shattering new way to think about motivation from the author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction-at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world. Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose-and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live.